New Report Reveals Critical Perspective of Parents and Teachers on K-12 School Safety

Motorola Solutions (NYSE: MSI) released the findings of its 2023 K-12 School Safety Report which captured sentiments from 1,000 K-12 parents and 1,000 K-12 educators across the United States.

The timely research reveals the most pressing concerns for those closest to school safety and highlights their perceptions about emergency preparedness plans, communication practices, school safety technologies and training for teachers and students. The new data shows that 67% of both parents and teachers are much more concerned about school safety now than they were five years ago, even as 73% of parents and 80% of teachers are confident that their school’s emergency response plans are effective. 

“School safety is top of mind for parents and educators alike, with both groups expressing concerns about mental health issues, bullying and active shooter situations,” said Todd Piett, vice president of Rave Mobile Safety at Motorola Solutions. “Ensuring that school personnel and families are aware of proactive planning practices, the notification methods employed by schools, technologies in place to thwart and report emergencies and school protocols for when incidents occur will not only help to alleviate worries, but ultimately improve safety outcomes.” 

Key findings from the report include:

Safety and preparedness plans are key to gaining parents’ and teachers’ trust: When looking at schools, parents and teachers both rank school safety as a critical factor (66% for parents, 72% for teachers). 

Student mental health continues to be a top concern: Sixty-four percent of parents and 68% of teachers are very or extremely concerned about students’ mental health. Additionally, parents and teachers are worried about the mental health of community members who may perpetrate acts of violence on a school campus and teachers’ mental health.

Communication channels before and during crisis events are essential: Nearly half of teachers (48%) say that they are able to submit anonymous or confidential tips to their school, public safety or both, compared to 43% of parents. In the event of an emergency, 57% of teachers indicate they would typically use a classroom phone to call the main office - a time-consuming approach that does not simultaneously loop in school district officials, 9-1-1 call handlers or first responders who may need to act fast. 

School safety technology is in use — and can help to put parents at ease: Seventy-one percent of teachers say that their school has adopted new safety technology in the last two years, but 54% of parents say they haven’t seen new technologies implemented. This disparity presents an opportunity for schools to periodically communicate with parents about the safety solutions they're implementing to reduce risk or expedite response. Almost half (46%) of parents say panic button apps that allow teachers and school staff to quickly notify 9-1-1 would increase their confidence in school safety.

Nearly all teachers and parents report participation in lockdown drills: Eighty-nine percent of parents say their child has participated in a school lockdown drill, with 96% of teachers reporting the same. Eighty-two percent of parents say their child has participated in a drill specifically for active shooter preparedness, while 73% of teachers have participated in such drills with students and another 10% without students. Thirty-six percent of teachers have not engaged in training with first responders but they want to.

Motorola Solutions offers a full ecosystem of technologies for school safety including panic button and mobile safety apps, access control, video security, body-worn cameras, critical communications, weapons detection and command center technologies - all of which can help to address the challenges and opportunities outlined in this report. To view the full findings of the survey, download the 2023 K-12 School Safety Report here. 

Methodology
The independent market research firm Researchscape conducted this survey. Respondents were 1,000 members of the public with children in grades K-12 and 1,000 teachers at K-12 grade levels. The survey was conducted in June 2023.